Beauties Irina Shayk, Simone Biles and Jessica Simpson… meet the NFL WAGs welcoming Taylor Swift to the team
SHE is the pop princess with a clutch of Grammys and a global army of loyal fans.
And now Taylor Swift looks set to add Queen of the NFL WAGs to her CV after stepping out with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The pair were rumoured to be dating after she was spotted in a box at of his recent games. She was pictured alongside A-list pals Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, plus newly single actors Hugh Jackman and Sophie Turner.
The romance seemed to be confirmed on Saturday when they were pictured hand-in-hand heading to dinner at Nobu in New York before an SNL after party.
Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, 33-year-old Travis is a superstar in his field with an estimated £25m fortune and two Super Bowl titles to his name.
His fame is no match for Tay-Tay, with her £600m worth and 274m followers on Instagram.
But after romancing a string of star musicians and actors, including Harry Styles, John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal and Joe Alwen, she seems to have fallen for a footballer – following in the stiletto footsteps of other famous women.
Here, we meet the other leading ladies who make up the NFL WAG first team…
Ciara Wilson
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Ciara has been married to quarterback Russell Wilson, 34, of Denver Broncos, since July 2016.
They tied the knot a year after they started dating and wed at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, England.
Daughter Sienna came along in April 2017, followed by son, Win, in July 2020, and they recently announced they’re expecting baby number three.
Ciara, 37, whose hits include Goodies and Missy Elliott collaboration Lose Control, also has a son called Future with her rapper ex-boyfriend of the same name.
The RnB and Crunk star has branched out into modelling and acting, playing Nettie in recent remake of The Color Purple, and was a brand ambassador for Revlon.
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Russell has won the Super Bowl once and played for the Seattle Seahawks until 2022.
He is said to have earned around £150m from football to date, part of which has been invested in his not-for-profit, Why Not You Foundation, of which Ciara is a director.
The couple also have a number of business investments, including a rum brand and a production company.
They own a £20m home in Cherry Hill, Colorado, with a nine-car garage, four bedrooms and 12 bathrooms.
Simone Biles
Widely regarded as the greatest female gymnast of all time, Simone wed Green Bay Packers player Jonathan Owens, 28, on the beach in Cabo, Mexico, in April 2023.
The loved-up pair met via celeb dating app Raya in March 2020 after she slid into his DMs, with Owens proposing on Valentine’s Day 2022.
Simone, 26, rose from an impoverished childhood in Ohio, where she spent time in and out of foster care, to win seven Olympic gymnastic titles and 25 World Championship titles.
But her career has had low points.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she had to pull out of most events after developing “the twisties”, a temporary loss of air balance awareness.
She has also bravely spoken out about her sexual assault at the hands of abusive coach Larry Nassar, testifying before a Senate committee with her teammates.
In 2022, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Joe Biden.
Owens has previously played for Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans, in the strong safety position.
Irina Shayk
Supermodel Irina is a newbie on the NFL WAGS scene after she was spotted getting cosy with recently retired football superstar Tom Brady.
But she has a track record of romance with only the most A-list men in their fields.
Russian Irina, 37, was previously engaged to Hollywood heartthrob Bradley Cooper and has a daughter, Lea, six, with the actor, who they co-parent amicably together.
Prior to that she dated superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo for five years.
Meanwhile Brady, 46, finalised his divorce to Brazilian beauty Gisele Bundchen last year.
Irina, regarded as one of the elite ‘New Supers’ by Models.com, is thought to have a net worth of £20m.
She and Tom are said to have met when they both attended the wedding of art billionaire Joe Nahmad in May 2023.
But the romance only came to light in July when they were seen kissing in Tom’s car.
Jessica Simpson
The American sweetheart singer and actress has been married to former player Eric Johnson since 2014, having met at a party four years prior.
He was a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.
They have three children – daughters Maxwell, 11, Birdie, four, and ten-year-old son Ace.
Jessica first rose to fame when she signed a record deal aged 17, after singing in church, and was seen as the antithesis of sexy singers like Britney.
She later branched out into fashion, with her collections said to have amassed around £750m in sales.
Jessica, 43, has form when it comes to footballers. She dated former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo from 2007 until 2009.
But her first marriage was to fellow singer Nick Lachey, with their relationship the subject of MTV reality show Newlyweds.
When they divorced in 2006, she had to pay him a whopping $12m as they did not sign a prenup.
Today she is said to be worth around £170m.
Kerry Washington
The Scandal actress has been married to retired cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha for ten years.
Their June 2013 low-key wedding in Hailey, Idaho, was kept secret for two weeks after the big day, with fans even unaware they had been dating.
The couple have two kids together – daughter Isabella, nine, and son Caleb was turns seven this month.
Nnamdi also has a daughter, Anaiya, from a previous relationship.
Kerry, 46, has a Primetime Emmy to her name and has also appeared in mini-series Little Fires Everywhere, as well as the 2004 Ray Charles biopic Ray, as well as Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.
She grew up in the Bronx and was taught dance by Jennifer Lopez, who would be a substitute teacher at her performing arts school.
Her husband has also branched out into acting alongside his prestigious career playing for Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Carl King in the 2017 film Crown Heights, which he also produced, garnering a number of award nominations.
Kerry is said to have a net worth of around £41m alone.
Kim Zolciak-Biermann
The Real Housewives of Atlanta star has been married to former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Kroy Biermann since 2011.
They have four children together: Kroy ‘KJ’ Jr, 12, Kash, 11, and twins Kaia and Kane, nine.
Kim, 45, also has two girls, Brielle and Ariana, from previous relationships, who her husband adopted.
The mum of six was an original cast member of the Housewives, and also appeared in MTV show Don’t Be Tardy for eight years.
She competed on Dancing With The Stars in 2015 but withdrew after three weeks after suffering a mini-stroke, which meant she couldn’t fly.
In April this year, they filed for divorce and a messy custody battle ensued until they called off proceedings in July.
They recently revealed they still have sex but have refiled for divorce again – in what looks set to be a bitter battle – with both claiming to be financially broke.
Jessie James Decker
This country music crossover star is a success in her own right in the United States.
The wife of Eric Decker, who played for Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, she appeared on Dancing With The Stars in 2022.
The duo wed in June 2013 and starred in E! reality show on Eric & Jessie: Game On for three series.
Jessie, 35, is thought to be worth around £8m but much of her fortune is from her bestselling cookbook – Just Feed Me – not her music.
She also has a clothing line called Kittenish and a second book called Just Eat out soon.
Jessie is currently pregnant with the couple’s fourth child, a sibling for Vivianne, nine, Eric, eight, and Forrest, five.
Olivia Culpo
Model and fashion influencers Olivia, 31, is a former Miss USA and Miss Universe, winning both titles in 2012.
She has dated San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, 27, since 2019 and they got engaged in April this year.
Olivia has appeared in the Sport Illustrated Swimwear Issue and has branched out into acting, with roles in films The Other Woman, I Feel Pretty and Venus as a Boy.
She has five million followers on Instagram, co-owns a family restaurant and is an accomplished cello player, having played with numerous orchestras in her native Rhode Island.
Olivia launched a reality show last year with her sister called The Culpo Sisters, which airs on TLC, and was on the American version of The Masked Singer this year.
Christian is not the model’s first football beau. She dated former wide receiver Danny Amendola for two years until 2018.
Candice Crawford Romo
The beauty queen sister of Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford has been married for former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo since 2011.
Tony, 43, is the ex of fellow NFL WAG Jessica Simpson and has become an NFL commentator for CBS since retiring from the sport in 2017.
The former Miss Missouri isn’t just a beauty however. She’s also a sports journalist, working for stations in Missouri and Texas, and the couple met when she was an intern for Tony’s team.
Candice, now 36, was still living with her Cowboys-obsessed parents at the time, so she made them hide in the bathroom when he came to pick her up.
The couple have three sons together – Hawkins, 11, Rivers, nine, and Jones, six.
Hope Solo
Professional footballer Hope is arguably the bigger sporting star in her relationship with Jerramy Stevens.
The couple have been together since August 2012 and married three months later, welcoming twins Vittorio Genghis and Lozen Orianna Judith in March 2020.
Hope, 42, is regarded as one of the greatest women’s goalkeepers of all time and has won Olympic gold with Team USA twice, along with the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015.
She appeared on Dancing With The Stars in 2011 and published her bestselling book, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, the following year.
But she’s also had run ins with the law, accused of assaulting her sister and also being arrested for drink driving in 2022, which led to a stint in rehab.
In 2014, she was a victim of the iCloud leaks, when naked pictures of her were posted online.
Her husband Stevens, 43, is a retired tight end and played for Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his career has been controversial due to pre-fame criminal activities and incidents of violence on and off the pitch.
He has also been arrested for drug and driving offences.